on the board ‘Focus on quality’
With production investment and emphasis on growing exports, STV business development manager Ed Deane says there is plenty to keep the company busy in the coming months
How did you get to where you are today? Like most people – a lot of hard work, a bit of luck and a good dose of determination! I wouldn’t say my path here has been planned, but looking back, you do realise that you’ve strung together a breadth of experiences that you draw on every day. From landscaping to retail, from merchandising to buying and product development – it’s been a great journey so far, but I find myself learning at a faster rate than ever, now.
Tell us a bit about STV.
STV is a great business nestling in the heart of the Norfolk countryside. We employ around 60 people, and we’re growing at a phenomenal rate. Since the business started in the early 90s, we’ve focused solely on pest control to retail which gives us a unique position in the market place. That focus has allowed STV to develop the pest control market through innovative products, strong branding and better package design.
We have an established network of sales agents representing us within many of our key customers and wholesalers. Our customers value those trusted relationships, and the consistency is vital to us.
There is an in-house team looking after key and national accounts and export markets.
What’s your working week like? Well, every week is different! My role is to blend a number of the business functions, so I’m often working with sales and marketing teams on customer projects, with supply chain and suppliers on availability and product developments, and of course, there’s a lot of regulatory detail to work through. I’m also working with the production team here to update some of our manufacturing equipment, so there’s something different about every minute of every day. But I love the diversity, and in the end, it’s all about driving a business forward.
What’s the one thing you couldn’t do your job without?
It has to be my iPhone. Connectivity on the move is essential in business now. I recently found myself on a train in China, using my mobile as a wifi hotspot for my PC, with a UK technician dialling in and fixing some issues with my laptop. If I think about that too long, it
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blows my mind – so I prefer to accept the technology is available, and get on with using it!
What’s keeping you busy at the moment? I’m keeping a close eye on our new product launches right now. We have some critical shipping dates for our new Ultra Power products and Citronella Candles range to hit, and there’s constant dialogue internally and with manufacturers to keep that on track.
What are the plans for the next 12 months?
We are working on new product launches in our core brands that take us into some new areas within our ‘STV Live Pest-Free’ remit. Our aim is to enlarge our co-operation with existing customers as well as accessing new ones. We also have some important work to complete to grow our export sales, and we will invest heavily in our production facility this year. So plenty to keep us busy!
What do you do to relax?
I have a young family, so weekends are often spent trying to keep up with my three boys! Otherwise, I relax most when I’m cooking. I love experimenting with flavours, and I’m into cooking slowly at really low temperatures at the moment.
What are the most rewarding aspects of your job?
Taking a project through to completion is great. Walking into a store and seeing STV products on-shelf that I’ve been a part of is extremely satisfying. I also value my supplier relationships, and I always look forward to meeting up face to face wherever they are and getting to know them and their business better.
STV offer products to tackle a range of common pests, including those that cause
gardeners grief such as moles and insects
GCU December 2015
What advice would you give to someone starting out in the trade?
Focus on quality. It’s not enough to have a good idea and some enthusiasm, essential though they both are. Consumer expectation has come a very long way in the last 10 years, and anyone starting out has a great opportunity to define their standards from the word go, do something different and really make an impression.
And the most challenging?
The weather! You can influence most things about performance, but the weather will always be a deciding factor that you can do nothing about.
What’s the biggest issue facing the garden centre industry?
Maintaining a service level that differentiates independent garden centres from the DIY multiples or other garden outlets. I don’t believe that there is enough new talent coming into the industry, though there are many drivers behind that. Garden centres depend upon their ability to service demand in a way that DIY multiples or variety stores cannot. Lose that, and garden centres risk losing a great deal of market share.
Name one change you would make to the industry.
Update the Sunday Trading laws – gardening is such a weekend activity, it seems absurd that we have these restrictions in place.
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